"We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address

Blaze of gunfire

Monday, April 24, 2006

From the start, Lippold was confronting a Navy tradition of punishing any ship commander who hazards his vessel.

"Promotion is based upon a successful command tour," retired Adm. Harold Gehman, who investigated the role of Lippold's chain of command in the Cole attack, said in an interview. "They don't need any other reason than that not to promote you."

But Lippold's chain of command, up to the Joint Chiefs chairman and the secretary of defense, overruled the Navy report, finding that he could have done nothing to prevent the suicide bombing. A separate independent commission, led by Gehman and retired Gen. William Crouch, found that Lippold's superior officers had ill prepared him for docking in a place such as Yemen.

"There were a lot of things that the people above him didn't do very well," Gehman said.

And, yes, CO's do bear the burden of always being right. Regardless of the circumstances- maybe- Admiral Nimitz did ground his ship and "was courts-martialed for grounding her, an obstacle in his career which he overcame."

No comments:

Post a Comment

EagleSpeak

About EagleSpeak

The main focus of this blog is maritime security. Other matters may appear. I am a retired attorney and a retired Navy Reserve Captain (Surface Warfare). Opinions expressed herein are my own. Sometimes I have the experience to back them up. Your opinions may vary. Don't panic. Feel free to disagree, that's what free speech is all about.
Nothing contained herein should be confused as me giving legal advice to anyone. If you are confused, welcome to the club. All mistakes herein are my fault. I have sufficient academic credentials to be dangerous to myself and to others.
Comment moderation is at my discretion, so your comments may never appear. You can start your own blog for free and comment there all you want. I enjoy a healthy debate, but not arguing with trolls. If you can't comment without using intemperate language, go someplace else.
Under the header: USS Howard (DDG 83) fires its Mark 38 Mod. 2 25 mm machine gun during a live-fire exercise. Navy photo by MC2 Tyler Preston/Released)